{"id":9849,"date":"2014-03-27T13:57:47","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T13:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/?p=9849"},"modified":"2016-12-14T13:18:23","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T13:18:23","slug":"teaching-kids-brush-teeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teaching your children about dental hygiene is, like so much of parenthood, a real challenge. It is important however, to try and get your toddler into a tooth-brushing routine, even though it may be a bit of a battle at times. <\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\r\nWe\u2019re not going to pretend it happens over night but here are a few tips on teaching your kids how to take care of those pearly whites:<\/span>\r\n\r\n– Let your child choose his or her toothbrush. They may want a particular colour, a character based one, one that\u2019s the same as yours or perhaps even an electric one.\r\n\r\n– Likewise with toothpastes, there is little point in trying to force a child to use a strong, minty toothpaste if they don\u2019t like the taste. (Under 2s shouldn\u2019t have flouride in their toothpaste anyway.)\r\n\r\n– Encourage good brushing habits by having them yourself.\u00a0 Brush your teeth together with your child using good technique so that your child will mirror you.\r\n\r\n– Encourage your child to use a gentle circular motion on their teeth and make up noises and songs to make it fun. Make sure your child works up lots of bubbles with the toothpaste.\r\n

\"LearningToBrushTeeth\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n– Your child will probably love the opportunity to spit into the sink! Encourage this, and teach them to swish and rinse their mouth out with water or a child-friendly mouthwash too.\r\n\r\n– Older children may enjoy the \u2018breath of death\u2019 game where they breathe on you and you pretend to fall over if they haven\u2019t brushed properly and their breath is smelly!\r\n

\"Inspire-your-child-to-brush\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n– Take a trip to the dentist as a family. Sometimes encouragement from someone in a white coat counts for more than anything mummy or daddy can say!\r\n\r\n–\u00a0Chewable toothbrushes<\/a> are good for little ones who refuse to brush their teeth. As they chomp on them, their teeth get cleaned and gums soothed.\r\n\r\n\"brush\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Get up to 3.5% back for your kids at Boots >\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\r\n– Make brushing the teeth into a game. Perhaps name individual teeth… \u201cDon\u2019t leave Charlie out\u201d etc. Or maybe let your child imagine they are a dentist and let them brush your teeth, or maybe you can pretend they are blinding you with the whiteness of their teeth. Get creative!\r\n\r\n–\u00a0Plaque disclosing tablets<\/a> that show up stains on the teeth can be useful to show older children how much tooth brushing helps get rid of decay inducing plaque.\r\n\r\n\"10154242\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n– Don\u2019t forget about flossing! When children\u2019s teeth start to sit close together (anytime between 2-6 years) it is a good idea to introduce flossing. Do this gently for them until they have the dexterity to do it themselves (around 10 years old.)\r\n\r\n– Try not to worry too much if your child doesn\u2019t get the whole tooth brushing thing straight away and generally keep the levels of sugar and sweets in your child\u2019s diet to a minimum. Dentists say that tooth brushing is something most young children don\u2019t do well until they are older.\r\n\r\nSmile on!\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFeatured Image<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teaching your children about dental hygiene is, like so much of parenthood, a real challenge. It is important however, to try and get your toddler into a tooth-brushing routine, even though it may be a bit of a battle at times. We\u2019re not going to pretend it happens over night but here are a few","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3501,3348],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-development-advice","category-lifestyle-tips-for-families"],"yoast_head":"\r\nTeaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth - KidStart Magazine<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth - KidStart Magazine\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Teaching your children about dental hygiene is, like so much of parenthood, a real challenge. It is important however, to try and get your toddler into a tooth-brushing routine, even though it may be a bit of a battle at times. We\u2019re not going to pretend it happens over night but here are a few\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KidStart Magazine\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-27T13:57:47+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-14T13:18:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"704\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kidstart\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kidstart\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/\",\"name\":\"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth - KidStart Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-27T13:57:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-14T13:18:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/267e9f8801debde95625022b91522cd0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png\",\"width\":704,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"KidStart Magazine\",\"description\":\"KidStart - a little help along the way\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/267e9f8801debde95625022b91522cd0\",\"name\":\"kidstart\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6cd4b0a1634c423d91f5963b78ad92a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6cd4b0a1634c423d91f5963b78ad92a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"kidstart\"},\"description\":\"KidStart is a free shopping club for parents, grandparents, family and friends. Once registered, a percentage of what you spend online at thousands of well-known retailers including John Lewis, Ebay, Amazon, Mothercare, Sainsbury's etc. will be collected and transferred into your child's or children's savings account. Find out more >\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk?t=lwk\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/author\/kidstart\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth - KidStart Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth - KidStart Magazine","og_description":"Teaching your children about dental hygiene is, like so much of parenthood, a real challenge. It is important however, to try and get your toddler into a tooth-brushing routine, even though it may be a bit of a battle at times. We\u2019re not going to pretend it happens over night but here are a few","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/","og_site_name":"KidStart Magazine","article_published_time":"2014-03-27T13:57:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-14T13:18:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":704,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"kidstart","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"kidstart","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/","name":"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth - KidStart Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png","datePublished":"2014-03-27T13:57:47+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-14T13:18:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/267e9f8801debde95625022b91522cd0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/teeth.png","width":704,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/teaching-kids-brush-teeth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Teaching Kids How to Brush Their Teeth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"KidStart Magazine","description":"KidStart - a little help along the way","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/267e9f8801debde95625022b91522cd0","name":"kidstart","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6cd4b0a1634c423d91f5963b78ad92a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6cd4b0a1634c423d91f5963b78ad92a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"kidstart"},"description":"KidStart is a free shopping club for parents, grandparents, family and friends. Once registered, a percentage of what you spend online at thousands of well-known retailers including John Lewis, Ebay, Amazon, Mothercare, Sainsbury's etc. will be collected and transferred into your child's or children's savings account. Find out more >","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk?t=lwk"],"url":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/author\/kidstart\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}